Method and apparatus for shaping ingots



Dec. 16, 1952 TOPPI METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHAPING INGOTS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Aug. 12, 1948 mm m u L Y A TTORNE Y5.

Dec. 16, 1952 TQPPl 2,621,394

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHAPING INGQTS Filed Aug. 12, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVEN TOR. [u/a/ 7 0PP/ Patented Dec. 16, 1952 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHAPING INGOTS Luigi Toppi, Detroit, Mich.

Application August 12, 1948, Serial No. 43,842

Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for shaping ingots.

In the steel mill white hot ingots are shaped for further processing by a rolling mill which gradually reduces the section of the ingot while lengthening the same. The ingots are reduced to billets, blooms, or slabs by rolling between two squeeze rolls, the piece in process being carried back and forth by closely spaced parallel rolls power driven and controlled by an operator.

In the past it has been the practice to roll out the ingot and shear off the irregular ends caused by the rolling action. These irregular ends are sent back to the scrap yard. Since several hundred pounds are cut all these ends there is considerable loss of steel which must be reprocessed before it becomes useful.

It is the object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for avoiding this loss. Hundreds of tons of steel a day can be saved by the present process.

Briefly, the idea can be stated thus: Instead of letting the ends of the rolled ingot to run free, bumpers are provided at each end of the travel to square the ends as they reach the bumper. Thus no irregular end is ever formed on the work in process.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a rolling machine presented diagrammatically.

Figure 2 is a view of Figure 1 on line 2-2.

Figure 3 is an elevation of actuatin linkage for the bumper.

Figure 4 is a view of a modified type of bumper.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a perspective cut-away view showing the bumper and its relation to carrying rolls and work in process.

Figure 7 is an end view of a slab showing squared end in solid lines and irregular end in dotted lines.

In Figure 1 I have presented a diagrammatic view of a blooming mill in which the mechanism is shown diagrammatically. The water cooled steel rolls that do the actual forming of the white hot ingots are shown generally at 10 and [2. These rolls are cooled by water flowing over them and can be moved relative to each other to vary the space between them.

On each side of the rolls 10-12 are conveyor rolls [4 and I6 which are power driven rolls arranged in parallel relation in a single plane wherein an ingot can be carried back and forth through the rolls l0|2. Normally after the ingot has been reduced to the dimension of a square or a rectangle, the ends which are irregular are out off and sent back to the scrap yard.

With the present invention at the end of each stroke between the rolls [0-42 the endof the ingots shown at W are bumped on the bumpers B before the ingot is returned throu h the rolls. Since the ingot is in relatively plastic condition, this bumpin on the ends in a direction on a plate or bumper which is normal to the direction of travel, will square up the ends of the ingot as a section is reduced to that desired. If, due to the reduced cross-section, the length of the billet increases to the point that it is impossible to pass it between the bumpers B of Figure '1, these bumpers may be shifted to horizontal position and additional bumpers E maybe placed in the pathway of the slab 0r billet to complete the squaring up of the ends before the material is passed on to be cut.

It is essential, of course, that the bumper .B be constructed of heavy enough material to withstand the shock to which it will be subjected. The bumper B is pivoted at 20 and springs 22 and 24 serve to absorb some of the shock. In addi tion, the depending portion of the bumper B serves as a reaction weight. The bumper B may be shifted from horizontal to vertical position by a lever arm 26 having a pull bar 28 connected at 30 to the lever arm by a lost motion. The bumpers B are so related to the rollers I l and I6 so that they are co-planer with the load plane of the rollers when they are in horizontal position.

In Figures 4, 5 and 6 I have shown another type of bumper which is vertically movable between rollers l4 and It, the ends of the bumper 30 being tracked in side grooves 32. The back of the bumper 38 is reinforced by an L-shaped extension 3 5 connected by gussets 36. The bumper 30 may be shifted vertically by a screw 38 actuated by a worm gear 40 and motor 42. The vertically slidable bumpers 39 can be mounted in place of the pivoted bumpers shown in Figure 1 and with the same spacing to accommodate the long rollings. The size of the bumper and the ruggedness can of course be determined by the requirements of a particular blooming mill.

In Figure 7 I have shown the end of a slab S in which diagrammatically I have presented in dotted lines the finished square ends which can be accomplished by using the apparatus and process above disclosed and the rough irregular end would have to be trimmed if my process were not used.

It will thus be seen that I have presented a process and apparatus which can be used to save tons of steel per day for any busy steel mill by the simple expedient of squaring the ends of the material being rolled by a bumping process.

What I claim is:

1. A method of forming a hot ingot into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped prior to cooling which comprisesthe steps of rolling the ingot back and forth in a direction lengthwise of itself to reduce the cross section of the ingot and bumping the end of the ingot at the end of a rolling stroke to square the end surfaces of the ingot which lie perpendicular to its line of travel to avoid the formation of irregular ends on the resulting parallelepiped.

2. An apparatus for squaring the ends of hot ingots while being rolled to desired cross-section which comprises a series of parallel, co-planar, power drive-n, reversiblemollers to carry the ingot back and.forthlongitudinally, and a. heavy, bumperxmember having; a: thickness equal to substantially the; diameterv oi' the individual rollers at each end of said seriesrnormalto and in the path ofithe ingot to resist the inertia impact of a moving steel ingot, and means movably mounting said bumper. members to permit removal from the pathof the-ingot whilethe finished work passes from the apparatus :or afreshingot passes to, the apparatuasaid means comprising pivot connections for the ends of. thebumper positioned substantially-at the. loadplaneof the rollers whereby said bumper maysbemoved from avertical bumping .positiontto a horizontalposition at the load plangofithe rollers to permit work to pass over it.

3. An apparatus for squaring the ends of hot ingots, while being rolled to. desired cross-section which comprises a series of parallel, co-planar, power. driven, reversible rollersto carry the ingot back and forth longitudinally, and a bumper '5 member at each end of said" series normal to and in the path of the ingot, and means movably mounting said bumper members to permit removal; from the path of the ingot while the finished, work passes from. the apparatus or a fresh ingot passes to the apparatus, said means comprising pivot connections for the ends of the bumperposit-loned substantially at the load plane of the-rollers whereby said bumper may be moved iroma vertical bumping position to a horizontal position at the-loadplane of the rollers to permit workto pass over it, and shock absorber means positioned to bear against said bumpers in bumping position to absorb: the bumping shock caused by impact of an ingot being shaped.

4. An apparatus for squaring the ends of hot ingots while being rolled to desired cross-section which comprises a series of parallel, co-planar, power driven, reversible rollers to carry the ingot back and forth longitudinally, and a, bumper member at each end of said series normal to and in the path of the ingot, and means movably mounting said bumper members to permit removal from the path of the ingot while the finished work passes from the apparatus or a fresh ingot passes to the apparatus, said means comprising pivot connections for the ends of the bumper positioned substantially at the load plane of'the rollers whereby said bumper may be moved from a vertical bumping position to a horizontal position at the load plane of the rollers to permit work to pass over it, and spring means positioned at each end of'said bumper to absorb the shock caused by impact of an ingot being shaped.

5. An apparatus for squaring the ends of hot ingots while being rolled to desiredcross-section which comprises a seriesofl parallel, co-planar, power driven, reversible rollers to, carry the ingot back and forth longitudinally, and a bumper member at each end of saidser-ies normal to and in the path .of the ingot, and means movably mounting said bumper members to permit removal from the. path of the ingot while the finished work passes from the apparatus or a fresh ingot passes to the-apparatus, saidv means comprisingpivot connections for the-ends of the bumper positioned substantially at the load 'plane of the rollers'whereby said-bumper may be moved froma vertical bumping position to a horizontal position at the load planeof the rollers to-permit work to pass over it, and means to -move said bumper from horizontal to vertical position comprising a lever arm connected tooneof the-pivot connections and an actuator link connected to said arm by alost motion. connection to. absorb shock movement.

vLUIGI TOPPI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references arerof record in the file of this patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name. Datev Re. 11,646 Huber Jan. 4,18% 680,998. Norton ,.Aug. 20,1901 1,932,504 .Biggert Oct. 31, 1933 2,046,921 Michaelson et a1. July 7, 1936 2,248,002 Layton July. 1, 1941 2,268,472. Bungeroth Dec. 30, .1941 

